Chapter 113: Subjugation of the Floating Island — Interlude (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 113: Subjugation of the Floating Island — Interlude (2)
Dorothy Gale waded through a field of white reeds.
Golden sunlight gently enveloped her skin. The clusters of reeds swayed softly with every passing breeze.
The young girl traversed the field with confidence, even as the tall stalks obscured her vision, for a rainbow arched across the sky.
Somewhere, over that rainbow...
There was a place she had heard of in a lullaby.
Believing that her aunt, her uncle, Toto, and the people of the rural village where she once lived were all waiting beyond that rainbow, the girl ran toward it without rest.
Passing through the reeds, Dorothy finally reached the world beyond the rainbow, where a small red wooden house stood. As she was pulled into her aunt’s embrace, a bright smile lit up her face.
At the end of that vision, Dorothy met her final moments. She took the Floating Island with her as a companion to the afterlife, leaving nothing behind but ashes.
❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ Episode 2: 「Backstory - The Wizard of Oz」.
There had been nothing left for Dorothy. Thus, she had lived her life preparing for an inevitable end. She had rid herself of every lingering attachment...
...And then, Isaac appeared.
He tethered Dorothy to the world with countless attachments.
He made her pull the teddy bear out from the back of her wardrobe.
He made her engrave the places she wanted to go and the things she wanted to do into her heart.
He shattered her resolve to give up on everything and let go.
But most importantly of all... he promised to save her.
He had found her and asked her to return.
Dorothy pulled away from Isaac’s lips, slipping out from under the witch hat she had placed on him.
He was already unconscious.
It was easy to tell he had only been pretending to be alright. He had pushed himself far beyond his limits; it was only natural that he was in pain. Seeing his unfocused eyes, Dorothy realized Isaac couldn't even see what was in front of him.
Because he was forcing his eyes open, desperately trying to remain conscious, she had told him to close them as a sign that it was time to rest. Having reached his absolute limit, he fell into a deep sleep the moment his eyelids shut.
Isaac’s body was robust. Moreover, the transcendental ice mana flowing through his veins had been steadily reinforcing his mana circuits for some time now. After a deep rest, he would wake up healthy.
He truly was a monster of a man.
Gazing down at Isaac, Dorothy let out a faint smile.
Dorothy had the ability to read people’s emotions. Whenever Isaac looked at her, she saw affection. It was similar to the warmth she had always felt from her aunt, her uncle, and Toto.
—‘Do you like me, President?’
She had tested those emotions on several occasions. In fact, she often made tasteless jokes just to see his reaction.
However, Isaac always remained the same. Without fail, he continued to cherish her, worry for her, and harbor genuine affection for her. It was a heart filled with pure sincerity, devoid of any selfish motives.
The buzzing of insects was silent. Only a rapid, rhythmic heartbeat echoed in Dorothy’s ears.
“Goodnight, Isaac.”
Dorothy smiled softly, leaning Isaac comfortably against the wall...
Then, she quietly closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.
The first snow began to fall. Gradually, the winter night deepened.
[Status]
Name: Isaac
Lv: 102
Gender: Male
Year: 1st
Title: Eager First Year
Mana: [ ※ Mana Completely Depleted ]
• Mana Recovery Speed (B+)
• Stamina (A-)
• Strength (A-)
• Intelligence (B)
• Willpower (A+)
[Combat Skills]
Elemental Series 1: Ice
• Elemental Firepower (A-)
• Elemental Efficiency (A-)
• Elemental Synergy (A)
Elemental Series 2: Rock
• Elemental Firepower (B)
• Elemental Efficiency (B)
• Elemental Synergy (B-)
[Potential]
Stat Points: 0
◈ Growth Rate
• Physical Training Efficiency (S): 100/100 [MAX]
• Magic Training Efficiency (S): 100/100 [MAX]
• Learning Efficiency (A+): 84/100 [UP]
Owned Skills ❰❰Details❱❱
[Physical Training Efficiency] and [Magic Training Efficiency] have both reached MAX!
[Acquired unique trait: [Ultra Magic Knight]!]
[※ Activation conditions for unique trait [Ultra Magic Knight] have not been met! The unique trait remains sealed.]
Morning. The butterfly garden sparkled as the snow that fell during the night piled up softly. I was quietly organizing my thoughts during my morning jog.
The situation had been resolved.
Despite the appearance of the Floating Island, the academy hadn’t suffered any major damage, and the most severe injuries were relatively minor. A huge part of that result was thanks to Luce’s intervention.
I’m so proud of that kid.
Last night, after falling into the sea, I had ascended high above the clouds with Dorothy. I couldn't afford to be spotted, after all. We decided to rest at the hideout within Josena Forest.
My bodily functions had shut down completely before I fell into a deep slumber. My memories were fuzzy, like a blackout after drinking way too much. Dorothy’s hat had been on my head, and I had a vague memory of leaning back. I passed out almost immediately after closing my eyes...
But, you know... given the circumstances, I couldn't help but ask myself a serious question.
‘Did we kiss?’
Me... and Dorothy?
When I couldn't feel anything? When I was basically a glorified statue?
How can I accept that? I can’t!
It’s so unfair if I got my favorite character’s first kiss but couldn’t even feel it...
‘...Well, I’m probably overreacting.’
Whatever. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. I was in a completely wrecked state yesterday, so it could all just be my imagination. I could always find Dorothy later and ask, ‘Did we happen to kiss?’
‘No, wait... if I just blurt it out like that...’
‘It might make me look easy.’
...Let’s just ask later when the time is right.
Anyway.
After resting at the hideout, I regained my senses. Dorothy had likely healed my body bit by bit as her mana recovered. Once I could move to a certain extent, I joined the academy shelter at dawn. I made sure to go separately from Dorothy, of course.
There were many students gathered at the shelter. Since many had been injured by the Floating Island’s minions, I could blend in without attracting attention despite my physical condition. Externally, I was just a first-year Class C student in the Magic Department.
As soon as I entered the shelter, Luce spotted me with her monstrous eyesight and ran up to hug me. She whispered in that seductive voice of hers, tormenting my ears with how worried she had been. My legs were already shaking, but her voice made them lose all strength. I felt like my whole body was going to melt.
The academy staff announced they would investigate who dealt with the Floating Island and confirm its defeat. From my perspective, I just hoped the investigation would conclude without any issues.
Putting that aside...
After a deep sleep, my condition had recovered, and my body felt relatively fine. I expected the aftereffects to last quite a while, so I hadn't anticipated recovering this quickly.
Maybe it’s because I never stopped training my body.
‘No...’
While that might have helped, the most significant factor seemed to be briefly tapping into the full power of [Ice Sovereign] during the fight. Since then, I felt a change in my body. How should I put it... my mana was depleted, but the mana circuits themselves felt more robust.
‘Not only that...’
Looking at the status window, I couldn't help but smile. Just defeating the Floating Island had increased my level by a whopping 10. In total, I had gained 16 levels in a single night.
‘What a dogshit game...’
This was the Hell difficulty of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱. Because it was Hell difficulty, the enemies were stronger, but the experience gain wasn't much different from other modes. However, even with those limitations, I had leveled up explosively. It was an incredible result.
Currently, I was in a state of mana depletion. As I’ve mentioned before, once your mana hits rock bottom, the recovery rate slows to an abysmal crawl until it’s fully restored. Since it would take time to recover, I needed to refrain from magic training for a while. Not that I could really do any in this state anyway.
I decided to take this opportunity to recharge as much as possible.
‘Of course, I can’t just slack off.’
The end-of-semester evaluations for the first year were approaching. My goal was to receive the ‘Self-Development Excellence’ scholarship, awarded to the student with the highest grade increase compared to the previous semester. With that, I could start the second year without worrying about tuition.
Basically, I couldn't take the exams lightly.
‘Besides, studying for exams helps me get stronger.’
Knowledge played a significant role in learning new magic or developing skills. Studying was just another stepping stone to power. I hoped my mana would be fully recovered by the time the evaluations started.
And finally, I had obtained the unique trait I wanted: [Ultra Magic Knight]. Unfortunately, this trait only becomes effective in the second year, so it was currently sealed. A bit of a shame.
The effect of [Ultra Magic Knight] was to apply the [Weapon Master] trait—which rapidly increases proficiency with magic weapons—to ultimate elemental weapons. It also enhanced magic power in proportion to one's physical training. It was a game-changing talent for a Magic Knight.
Moreover, my current physical state was far more advanced than when I fought the demon Trevion the Evil. If I reached Level 120 in the future, my base mana would be even higher than when [Hunter] first activated.
‘I’m leveling up diligently.’
How satisfying.
Now that I had surpassed Level 100, [Hunter] would activate at a fixed level of 200. Level 200 was also the requirement to achieve EX-Grade stats. Therefore, to defeat the Evil God, my next long-term goal was to reach those EX-Grade stats.
During winter vacation, I needed to obtain the rock ultimate weapon, ‘Gormos’ Greatsword,’ and prepare to take on the Pillar Demons, also known as the Tower of Demons. If I could raise my [Learning Efficiency] potential to S-Grade, I’d also need to allocate stats to [vs. Race Combat Power].
‘After all, I have to prepare for the Alice Subjugation in my second year.’
Alice Carroll. Boss Name: Queen of Hearts - Alice.
Alice was shrouded in more mystery than any other character. How did she end up supporting the Evil God? How did she know the Evil God was resurrecting? How did she know not to mess with Ian Fairytale’s household?
All these questions remained hidden behind her kind smile until the very end of the game. While Alice’s identity was a subject of intense debate in the community, the developers never gave an official answer.
Users naturally came up with their own theories: ‘Alice is a modern person who possessed a character,’ ‘Alice is a regressor who knows everything,’ ‘Alice found out through mysterious abilities and wants to destroy the world because she hates humans like Luce,’ ‘Alice is just KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIII~,’ and so on.
In the end, it was a meaningless debate. Personally, I leaned toward the regressor theory.
‘It’s a common cliché for characters like her to be regressors.’
Alice repeating countless regressions until her mind broke, leading her to dream of the world’s destruction... that was the story I imagined. However, now that I was actually here, it didn't seem like that at all. If Alice were a regressor, she would have noticed the anomalies in this timeline and come for me already. My attempts to hide my identity would have been pointless.
Alice was a character defined by uncertainty. All I could do was lay low until she revealed her true self and the subjugation began.
Well... whatever. No point in dwelling on fantasies that have no answer.
Alice was a "Dorothy Victim," so I should be able to clear the Alice Subjugation Battle safely.
‘Probably.’
Of course, things rarely went according to plan. How troublesome...
‘Anyway, putting that aside...’
The Primordial Beast, Diakan.
I never imagined that little bastard was hiding inside me. Currently, I couldn't feel a thing; my internal state was so calm it actually made me uneasy. Without [Hunter] active, I couldn't even sense his presence. I’d likely need to activate [Hunter] and use the power of [Ice Sovereign] to properly control him. For now, he was undoubtedly my minion.
For the record, familiars and minions were strictly different. A familiar shared a close bond through a pact; they could share mana and emotions, and if the master was skilled enough, they could be summoned in a smaller size. A person could only have three.
Minions had none of those perks. You summon them, and that’s it. There was no limit to how many you could have; it was just a matter of who obeyed whom.
Because I had summoned the Primordial Beast, I had likely scraped the very bottom of my mana reserves. I couldn't even summon Eden, who was usually easy to call out...
“President.”
“Whoa!”
Oh shit. That scared the crap out of me...!
As I ran past a tree, a student suddenly popped out as if she’d been lying in ambush. I skidded to a halt and turned toward her. My reaction seemed to amuse her, as she was giggling with a mischievous “Nihihi.”
“Senior?”
It was a girl with long, light purple hair tied only at the ends. Dorothy Heartnova.
[Dorothy Heartnova]
Lv: 182
Race: Human
Elements: Wind, Rock, Starlight
Danger: X
Psychology: [★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆]
Last night, when Dorothy’s mana was nearly gone, [Psychological Insight] had worked briefly. It seemed she had recovered a significant amount of mana overnight, as her starlight mana was blocking the skill once again. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't read her mind...
“As expected of a training maniac, are you out here even at this hour? Did you forget how hard you pushed yourself yesterday? President, it’ll break my heart if you overexert yourself again, you know?”
Dorothy made a playfully sorrowful face, placing a hand over her heart. The corners of her mouth were quirked up.
“It’s just light exercise. You’re up early, Senior.”
“Oh, well, the morning air was just so refreshing! I happened to see the President, so I thought I’d come say hello. So, um...”
A subtle blush crept onto Dorothy’s cheeks. Was she about to say something embarrassing? I turned fully toward her and waited silently for her to continue. Dorothy fidgeted with the brim of her witch hat a few times before finally meeting my eyes.
“...Good morning, Isaac.”
All she did was call my name and give me a simple morning greeting.
Come to think of it, today was the "tomorrow" that Dorothy could never reach in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱. This was the first morning she had faced as a completely free person.
She stood before me as if nothing had happened, and... it didn't feel real that I had actually saved her. This situation—this greeting—felt so natural and right, as if it were always meant to be.
“Yes, Senior. Good morning.”
I smiled and returned her greeting, treating it as the most natural thing in the world.
Dorothy gave me a dazzling smile.
The trees were draped in white snowflakes. Casually bantering, we walked together down the snowy path.